How I Became A Junkie

July 16, 2016

How I Became A Junkie
By Bob Fine

It’s Saturday, July 16th, 2016. It’s hot. It’s humid, but it’s bearable, today. But i’m happy to be enjoying a nice weekend at home in DC during the summer. As part of my Saturday morning weekend ritual, I’m enjoying my coffee, reading the paper, and simply relaxing with my lovely wife, and our two cats.

I came across a wonderful article written by Richard Babcock, titled: “The First Shudder of a Familiar Cubs Feeling.” And it’s a story that evokes one of my best childhood memories with my mother. Babcock is recalling his own childhood memory, being 9 years old, and listening to a late night ballgame on his radio while his parents are out to dinner, the baby sitter is downstairs, and he’s supposed to be fast asleep.

On April 13th, 1983, it was my twelfth birthday and I was in sixth grade. I was already a die hard baseball fan, avid baseball card collector, and in love with my local Philadelphia Phillies. Pete Rose, Mike Schmidt, Bob Boone, Larry Bowa, Tug McGraw, and Steve Carlton, just to name a few. My mom took me to the game that night for my birthday. What better way for a young baseball fan to celebrate their birthday than to go see a major league game? This must be why, still today, I’d rather go to a ballgame on my birthday than do almost anything else.

It was nice to be reminded of this memory today, and to learn that what I had witnessed 33 years ago was much more rare and unique than I realized at the time and since.

Below at the very beginning of this recording, you can hear the Phillies play-by-play announcer Harry Kalas call that game winning hit:

The earliest memory I can recall watching baseball is four years earlier during the 1979 World Series between the Orioles and the Pirates. I was eight. I can’t remember what game of the series I was watching, or who was winning. All I can remember is I was in the bedroom that my older brothers Michael and Andrew shared, and I was sitting on Andrew’s bed. They had a small TV on the dresser. My parents may have been fighting that night, and I was hiding out. I don’t clearly remember, but baseball was there, and that I remember.

I’ve searched high and low, and I can’t find a video clip of Bo Diaz’s grand slam that night in 1983, or an audio or video clip of Roberto Clemente’s grand slam back in 1956. Please email me if you have or find a link for either of them. I’d love to include them in this piece.

Was there a particular game or memory that greatly impacted your love, or hate, for the game? If so, please share it with us in the comments below.